The Evolution of Growth, Crystal Orientation, and Grain Boundaries Disorientation Distribution in Gold Thin Films

Herein, the growth and annealing effect of gold thin films are systematically studied by using an automated crystal orientation mapping (ACOM-TEM) technique. The crystallographic redistribution and structural changes in grain and boundaries due to recrystallization and grain kinetic processes are followed and described. The as-grown films show a dominant <111> texture followed by <110>, <100>, <112>, <102>, and <212> orientations; having a noticeable reorientation of the grains after annealing along the <111> direction parallel to the electron beam, as well as the expected grain size enlargement. Moreover, the random high angle grain boundaries observed in as-grown film transform towards low coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries after annealing. The consequences of recrystallization and grain kinetic processes, primarily grain rotation and coupled grain boundary migration on the evolution of the film structural properties are discussed based on the experimental results.